SMARTRISK is calling on its supporters to help us reach the finals of the Aviva Community Fund competition. Ours was one of the 62 semi-finalist ideas that made it through one of three initial rounds of voting. A final round of voting takes place Dec. 2-16, after which the 25 ideas with the most votes proceed to the judging round. Visit http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf1059 to vote every day from Dec. 2-16.

SMARTRISK offers sincere gratitude to all who voted in the Aviva Community Fund competition to bring No Regrets to 250 schools next year. Among the 900+ ideas submitted, SMARTRISK tallied more than 4,100 votes, moving us to the semi-finals. Please vote again in the Dec. 2-16 round to ensure SMARTRISK’s is among the 25 ideas moving to the final judging phase.

SMARTRISK has entered in the Aviva Community Fund competition an idea to train 250 new No Regrets schools in 2010. You can help us make it happen. The 25 ideas with the most votes will make it to the semi-finals and have a chance to share in the $500,000 fund.

A new report by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation evaluating graduated driver licensing programs in North America has produced some expected results – and maybe a few surprises. For example, Canadian 19-year-old drivers are much more likely to die in a car crash than their U.S. counterparts.

SMARTRISK’s youth programs now have their own website, where students, teachers, parents, sponsors and anyone else interested in youth injury can find what they need online. No Regrets students can download activities and events to organize in their schools, parents can get advice on talking to teens about risk and interested visitors can find out about SMARTRISK’s philosophy.

SMARTRISK’s newly published The Economic Burden of Injury in Canada is featured in an article in The Globe and Mail today by André Picard. As Mr. Picard notes, “Injuries sustained in everyday activities, from bone-breaking falls to motor-vehicle crashes that rip families apart, cost the Canadian economy a staggering $19.8-billion a year.”

Injury costs Canadians $19.8 billion annually – more than $600 for each man, woman and child in the country, according to a new report released by SMARTRISK today, The Economic Burden of Injury in Canada. In fact, injury – from falls, traffic, drowning, suicide, violence and other means – remains the leading cause of death for Canadians aged one to 44, taking the lives of 13,667 people in 2004.

New research suggests chatting on a cellphone while driving may not be as dangerous as some have suggested – but that texting while driving is highly risky as it takes drivers’ eyes from the road for long periods of time. The researchers warn widespread texting has the potential to create a crash epidemic and should be banned.

Canada’s anti-drinking and driving campaigns are superior to some others, in that not only do they warn of negative consequences for drunk driving but they also offer alternatives, says a new study from the University of Regina. Of five countries studied, Canada had the greatest number of different campaigns, along with a lower fatality rate than the United States.

The Canadian Standards Association says it has developed the country’s first recreational alpine skiing and snowboarding helmet standard to help protect winter sports enthusiasts on Canadian slopes, and will soon begin testing and certifying helmets under the standard. Traumatic head injury has been cited as the leading cause of death among skiers and snowboarders.